As I was driving this week, I switched on the radio and caught a few minutes of a phone-in programme hosted by Victoria Derbyshire. The subject was the requirement for those on Job Seeker’s Allowance to take part in work experience. Not unexpectedly, in the few minutes that I listened, callers contributed a range of…
Ouch! I think that hissing is the sound of knives flying through the air aimed at my back. This is where I may upset most business women and most business men. I’ll be accused of stereotyping and other words I find difficult to spell. I’m old but not wise – who knew? However, I just…
Be disruptive not desperate ‘I’ll do it’. That’s the response you get from Tony Robinson OBE’s answer-phone. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s desperate for work – he can’t do anything. As a literary agent, to yours truly, he’s been as successful as my goldfish. His long suffering wife, Eileen, tells me that he is…
Many small business owners feel there are simply not enough hours in the day to get things done and ultimately their productivity suffers as a result of this. But there are a number of small changes you can make when running a business that will have a big impact on your working life. The most…
No use complaining Keep up won’t you? There’s no room for weenies in the global micro enterprise community. My hapless and hopeless UK agent, Tony Robinson OBE, sent me a press clipping of what Serena Williams said after winning the Madrid Open last week. He’s obsessed by how Serena and Venus have raised the game,…
Keep up won’t you – most websites that promote ‘how to successfully start and run your own business’ are sponsored by big companies and government bodies and written by people that are in jobs and have never started their own business. The advice is so yesterday. It is stuff from antiquity that belongs in a…
There is a better way of building your business than taking on a senior employee. Unfortunately, this better way is risky and certainly is not possible for all types of micro-business. My preferred options/alternatives to taking on a senior employee are: Option 1. using independent contractors/freelancers/other micro-businesses Option 2. taking on partners or if you’re…
Who can you trust to help you to survive and thrive? There is a better way of getting help than from Government and Big Company funded start up and micro business support programmes. That’s not to say we don’t want their help and a lot of these free offers of help are good and needed.…
Money is the lifeblood of any business, start-up or 100 years old. Considering implications for your cash-flow should be at the heart of every decision you make in your business. Whatever makes you money now has to be prioritized over anything that has the promise of money in the future: If you can send an…
We don’t know what we don’t know I always chuckle to myself when big companies that sponsor awards to start up and existing small business give, as part of the prize, mentoring or advice from a senior executive in their company. Perhaps it is no laughing matter. Firstly, it’s arrogant to assume that starting and…
